Unlike many studios, Ubisoft looks to be adopting a different strategy to ensure that new entries in their most successful series have groundbreaking new features. Instead of claiming dozens of new gameplay mechanics for the upcoming installments in its Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed franchises, Ubisoft is taking a potentially risky, but so far well-received, back-to-basics approach to both series.
The Lost Crown and Assassin’s Creed Mirage both have a renewed emphasis on the gameplay elements that let each franchise become a hit in the first place. This is a fantastic way to pay homage to each series’ origins while also making the games more approachable to new players.
While some gamers were probably upset that the long-delayed remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time did not arrive at the Summer Game Fest, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown appears to have the ability to scratch a similarly nostalgic itch.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown appears to be embracing the inventive, acrobatic platforming features that made the 1989 original a smash with players, serving as a stylish return to the series’ side-scrolling beginnings.
The next Assassin’s Creed Mirage is poised to achieve the same for Ubisoft’s stealth-centric series as Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown did for that franchise. Although the Assassin’s Creed games have mainly avoided the quality decline that plagued the Prince of Persia series, they have still turned away some players.
Players more interested in parkour and assassination than spending 80+ hours just to reach the end credits have often felt neglected with newer Assassin’s Creed games, owing to their increasingly long runtimes and focus on RPG aspects.
The first gameplay clip demonstrated that Ubisoft’s claims regarding Assassin’s Creed Mirage were not a ruse, demonstrating that the studio is willing to adapt and learn from its mistakes. And, while it’s unlikely that the franchise’s mainline entries will follow Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s pared-down approach in the future, its success would demonstrate that there’s still a market for a more traditional Assassin’s Creed game, making similar titles more likely to be released in the future.
